Activate Office 2024 with your product key

During activation, Microsoft checks your product key and activates your Office licence. If Office stays unactivated, Microsoft eventually disables its editing features. This guide assumes Office 2024 is already installed. If not, start with Install Office 2024.

Your key and your edition

Your 25-character product key is in your order confirmation email and in your Lizensa account under My Library. This guide shows it as XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX.

Two kinds of key are in use for Office 2024:

• Retail key for Office Home 2024, Home & Student and Home & Business. Microsoft binds it to your Microsoft account. Microsoft states that Office Home 2024 and Home & Business 2024 install on one device.
• Volume key (MAK, Multiple Activation Key) for Professional Plus and Standard, the two LTSC editions. Each activation counts against a limit set by Microsoft. Once activated, Office stays activated unless the PC's hardware changes a lot.

Software and key must match

A key activates only the edition it was issued for. Retail keys fit the Office you install from your Microsoft account. Volume keys fit the LTSC installer from your Lizensa account. Your download link is in your order email and in your account.

To see what is installed, open Word and select File > Account. Product Information names the edition. If it does not match your order, reinstall first.

Installation status

Activation works only on a finished installation. In short:

• Retail: sign in at account.microsoft.com, open Services & subscriptions, select Install and run the setup file.
• Professional Plus and Standard: right-click the ISO from your library, select Mount, open the new drive and run install.cmd as administrator.

The full steps, including removing older Office versions, are in the installation guide.

Activate Office 2024

Retail: sign in with your Microsoft account

If you have not redeemed your key yet, go to office.com/setup first. Sign in with your Microsoft account or create one, enter the key without hyphens and follow the prompts. Then:

1. Open Word or Excel.
2. When Office asks you to sign in, use the Microsoft account you used at office.com/setup.
3. Accept the licence agreement.

Office finds the product in your account and activates. If an Activation Wizard opens instead, follow its prompts. Choose the telephone option only if online activation fails.

Professional Plus and Standard: enter your volume key

The installer does not contain your key. Office starts with Microsoft's generic volume licence key (GVLK), which is meant for company activation servers (KMS). For activation with your MAK, replace it with your own key. Choose one of the two ways.

In Word (easiest)

1. Open Word and select File > Account.
2. Under Product Information, select Change Product Key.
3. Enter your 25-character key and select Activate.

By default, volume editions of Office do not let standard users activate with a MAK. If Change Product Key is missing or does not accept your key, use the command line below with an administrator account.

With the command line

1. Select Start, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
2. Install your key:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /inpkey:XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

3. Activate online:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /act

The output ends with <Product activation successful>. If Windows cannot find the file, check whether the script is in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16. If so, use that path in the commands instead.

Online activation needs an internet connection. Without one, use the telephone route below.

Activate by telephone

Use telephone activation when the PC has no internet access, or when online activation fails. If the key has reached its activation limit, contact our support.

Professional Plus and Standard, with the command line:

1. Install your key first with the /inpkey command shown above. Then, in Command Prompt as administrator, show the installation ID:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /dinstid

2. Call the Microsoft activation number for your country. Microsoft lists the volume licensing numbers on its activation centres page.
3. Read out the installation ID when asked. Microsoft gives you a confirmation ID.
4. Enter it without spaces or hyphens:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /actcid:CONFIRMATIONID

With the Activation Wizard (all editions): if Office opens its Activation Wizard, you can do the same there. Select "I want to activate the software by telephone", then Next. Select your country or region under Step 1 and call the number shown. Give the installation ID shown under Step 2, enter the confirmation ID under Step 3, then select Next.

Check the activation

Retail: open Word and select File > Account. Product Information shows your Office 2024 edition with no activation warning. Your Office also appears at account.microsoft.com under Services & subscriptions.

Professional Plus and Standard: run this in Command Prompt as administrator:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /dstatus

Look for two lines:

• LICENSE STATUS: ---LICENSED---
• Last 5 characters of installed product key: followed by the end of your own key.

Check the block for your Office 2024 edition. If its status says ---NOTIFICATIONS---, Office is not activated. If its last five characters do not match your key, a different key is installed. In both cases, repeat the two commands under With the command line.

If something goes wrong

0xC004F074: no Key Management Service could be contacted. Office still uses its built-in KMS key. Run the two commands under With the command line to install your own key and activate. Details: error 0xC004F074.

0xC004C020: the MAK has exceeded its limit. Microsoft has counted all activations for this key. Do not retry with the same key; contact our support with your order number. See error 0xC004C020.

0xC004C008: the activation server could not use the key. Microsoft will not activate with this key, typically because its limit is reached. Contact our support with your order number and the full error message. See error 0xC004C008.

0xC004F050: the product key is not valid. The key does not match the installed edition, or it was typed wrongly. Compare it character by character with your order email. See error 0xC004F050.

0xC004C003: the key is blocked. Microsoft no longer accepts the key. Contact our support with your order number and the full error message. See error 0xC004C003.

You see a different error code. Let Microsoft explain it:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /ddescr:0xC004F074

Replace the code with yours. To list earlier activation failures, run:

cscript "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\OSPP.VBS" /dhistoryacterr

You moved Office to a new PC, or replaced the main board. Office treats this as a new device and asks for activation again. For a retail edition, Microsoft's route is: install on the new PC, activate by telephone, then uninstall Office from the old PC. For a volume edition, enter your key and activate on the new PC as described above. Each new activation counts against the key's limit.

Retail: Office asks for a product key after sign-in. Check which Microsoft account you are signed in with. It must be the account you used at office.com/setup. If not, sign out in File > Account and sign in with the right one.

Still stuck? Contact our support with your order number, the last five characters of your key and the full error message.